Wallet Size
by semul-sh-archives
Summary: ARCHIVED A moment of unavoidable tension between Abbie and Ichabod. (One-shot) [originally published: 01-21-16]
1. Chapter 1

**_Honest to God, this started out just as an angsty piece. I don't know what the hell happened but it went in a direction I didn't intend. Since I'm taking my time getting to Ichabbie in my other story, I figured why not share a little tension with you all? So, um, enjoy?_**

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"What's this?"

Abbie stooped down to pick up the small white square. It had fallen out of Crane's coat pocket when he'd hastily shrugged it on as they made their way out of the archives.

"Oh that's…," he said quickly, attempting to reclaim it but she turned her back and held it out of his reach.

She flicked it over between her fingers. It was a picture of her. A worn wallet-sized photo of the portrait she'd taken after she'd graduated from the academy. They'd given everyone free photo packages just like the portraits kids used to get in grade school. She vaguely remembered throwing the untouched packet into a drawer, disinterested in hanging pictures of herself around her house or handing them out like some overenthusiastic schoolgirl.

She looked over her shoulder at Crane questioningly. He stood tensely, flexing his hands at his sides, unwilling to look at her in the eye.

"It's me."

He nodded his head curtly, daring to glance up at her. She slowly turned toward him and raised her eyebrows, studying the dog-eared picture. She looked up at him again.

"You had it in your pocket?"

Taking a deep breath, he looked at her warily before carefully responding. "Yes."

She blinked in surprise. Ever since she'd returned, things between her and Crane were strained at best. Their flow, their ability to stay in sync, was off.

At first, she thought it was just her trying to adjust to the real-world again but the more time passed, the more she realized it was him who was holding back. She'd noticed it but didn't want to make it an issue. Now, staring at the tattered photo of herself, she realized maybe it was just her not wanting to face the truth.

Every time they were in the same room, she could feel him watch her every move, hear his breath hitch whenever she got close to him. She dismissed it as him being overprotective and jumpier than usual but then she'd catch him staring at her out of the corner of her eye. He looked at her so tenderly, yearning to say something yet refraining from sharing it with her.

She nodded thoughtfully, sucking her cheeks in. Maybe today was the day he'd decide to share his deep dark secret. She swallowed thickly and cleared her throat. She held out the photo to him, staring at the front of his shirt. Or maybe she just wasn't ready to hear him out. He looked at her outstretched hand and then at her.

She shrugged. "Not my best angle," she said dismissively, doing her best to avoid his gaze.

He took a few steps toward her, the sound of his boots echoing throughout the ancient structure. She moved her hand nearer to her chest as she realized how close he was getting. She stepped back bumping into the table behind her. There was no way she could escape this without making it awkward so she froze.

Her eyelids flickered as he stopped, his lean frame invading her personal space. She could feel the heat of his body as she studied the rise and fall of his virile chest. She tensed up as he slowly reached toward her hand, her trembling fingers pinching the photo against her chest. His long fingers delicately caressed her hand, his fingertips hovering dangerously close to her left breast. He lowered his head, puffs of his breath warming the top of her head.

He murmured into her soft hair near her ear, "And what, pray tell, is your best angle, Lieutenant?"

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 _P.S. I've never written smut before and wouldn't know where to start. So I think I'll just leave this here and hopefully it inspires somebody to gift us with some smutty Ichabbie. :)_

 _Your teasing wimp of a writer,_

 _semul_


	2. Chapter 2

**_So I know I said I wasn't going to finish this but you all are so wonderful and amazing, I gave up some hours of sleep and procrastinated grading papers to finish it. I hope you like it! Love you all!_**

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 _He murmured into her soft hair near her ear, "And what, pray tell, is your best angle, Lieutenant?"_

Caught off guard, she blinked incredulously. That came out of left field. No way in hell could she have ever imagined him capable of flirting so… _commendably_? She scoffed quietly in disbelief. Turning her head to ensure that this was indeed the same Crane who'd once denied having invited 'game' into his life, her cheek was met with his warm breath causing her to pause and shudder. His lips were dangerously close to her face. She gulped nervously.

While she distracted herself with his proximity, he carefully slid the photo out of her grasp, not bothering to restore any of the space he had invaded between them. Goosebumps crawled up her arms and back. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught him grinning knowingly. God, he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

She inhaled shakily and lowered her arms behind her, desperately pressing herself against the edge of the table, gripping onto it for dear life. She hadn't felt this nervous around a man since…actually, she couldn't remember since when. Oddly enough, a memory of her foster parents teasing her about her first school dance and 'leaving room for Jesus' popped to the forefront of her mind, advice that could've been useful a few moments ago. _Well_ , she thought, _useful but most likely unheeded._ Things were different now.

She wasn't a kid. Her foster parents, mama, Corbin, the department, the bureau, none of it was around anymore. Since coming back from 'the Underworld', she didn't have anybody or anything telling her what she should or shouldn't do for the first time in her life. She was completely on her own. _Alone._ And she had never felt so stripped of her identity before in her life.

She wasn't who she once was and hadn't become who she thought she would be. She was now solely a Witness, a destroyer of evil, destined to help save the world. It was her mission, her life's purpose. To put it simply, she was put on this earth to face some pretty terrible shit, all in the name of selflessly saving humanity. There was nothing she could do to escape it. Nevertheless, she wasn't alone in her duty.

She was given somebody to help her fulfill that same duty. She was given this impossible man, preserved for literal centuries and who had suffered through unimaginable loss just to be with her. This man that patiently stood in front of her, awaiting her reply, ready to share more than just their mission.

To him, she was the woman he was willing to journey through hell to save. He was willing to kill and die for her, willing to give everything and anything just to remain by her side. Just the mere realization that she meant that much to him, to anyone really, terrified her to no end yet filled her with a twisted sense of relief. She had found what most people spent their entire lifetimes chasing after. It had been laid at her feet and now it was up to her to accept it.

She swallowed nervously and studied his serene blue eyes. Though the war against evil was far from over and there was no guarantee that they'd remain together, or even make it out alive for that matter, nothing stood in their way of this very moment. She need only say the word and their entire lives would change once again and forever.

She lowered her gaze to the ground and softly chuckled. It was ironic how everything she had done to keep her life under control, to keep this from ever happening, had led her straight to it. He stared at her questioningly. She looked up at him through her eyelashes and arched her eyebrow. If she was going to do this, if _they_ were going to do this, she was going make him work for it.

She smirked at him teasingly. "I don't know, Crane. What angle do you prefer?"

He smiled at her roguishly. Reaching for her hand, he raised her knuckles up to his lips. He closed his eyes and gently kissed them. She sharply inhaled.

He murmured against her soft digits, "Each and every angle of you, Lieutenant, is of the utmost beauty."

Mesmerized by his old-fashioned chivalry and crafty way of making it sound dirty, her breath quickened. She licked her lips and swallowed nervously. Nodding, she rasped out, "Good answer."

He snapped his gaze up. She searched his eyes one last time before slipping her hands out of his grasp and reaching up to grip his collar, pulling his face closer to hers. She arched upward and tentatively positioned her lips near his, waiting for his signal to take what she had denied herself all these years. They closed their eyes and shared in each other's breath for a moment until his hands, hesitant at first, settled on her waist. He pulled her closer as he bent down, closing the space between them.

His supple lips gently caressed hers. After a moment of feathery pressure, she gently pushed against his lips, his beard prickling against her delicate skin, delighting in the friction. His warm hand splayed across her back and kept her steady. Her mind gently floated away into nothingness until all there was were his lips moving against her own. She smiled in contentment. He pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. Her arms encircled his neck as he reached up to cradle the back of her head. She stood on her tiptoes losing herself in the incredibly intensity. They explored, tasted, touched, and teased with such an untethered passion, they instantly realized their foolishness of their former inhibition. This was meant to be. It was always meant to be.

Once her senses were on the verge of taking her to the point of no return, Abbie pulled away breathlessly. She blinked up at him as she tried to catch her breath. He gripped her upper arms tightly as if trying to maintain his balance. His eyes remained closed, his lips deliciously swollen.

She inhaled slowly awaiting his reaction. After gathering his bearings, he opened his eyes and stared at her in a daze. He slipped one hand around her and reached up with his other, delicately caressing her cheekbone. They studied each other's features, fully aware of the line they had just crossed, knowing they could never go back.

He gazed at her adoringly and whispered, "Abbie."

She looked at him knowingly. Reaching behind her for the picture still resting between the fingers of his hand, she plucked it out of his grip. Looking at it and then again at him, she grinned.

"I don't think we're going to need this anymore." His face beamed with unreserved joy as she let it drop from her hand.

The white square fluttered to the ground, proudly ending its journey where theirs had just begun.

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 **I apologize for any grammatical errors. I'll fix them as I find them. I hope you enjoyed it! To be honest, this is the first time I've ever written a kiss between two characters. I hope I did it justice. :) Anyway, don't forget to let me know how you liked it! Thanks!**

 **Your sleep deprived writer,**

 **semul**


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